Four years ago we saw the alienation of farmers from their land due to the green revolution. How could they return to the land in the way of their fathers & grandfathers.
Children are naturally related to the earth & nature but somewhere between 10 & 15 in modern societies they lose touch with the magic. Could we help sustain this connection so that they could be part of a repairing of the broken web of society and landscape...
It is working more dramatically than we could have hoped as children acquire a sense of significance & motivation. Many other schools are calling us as they see how the confidence & achievement of these children have soared. Wilderness camps relate abundance in natural forests to organic farming; discussing social issues; working out & implementing solutions for issues such as waste management; looking at health issues & growing up; their own organic school gardens; each one learning to take responsibility for their own life with skills learnt by growing seedlings for farmers, making traditional inputs for sale to control pest attack, growing organic mushrooms & rearing chicks.
This has been achieved by a strong engagement in awareness programmes & building capacity with the teachers & by later involving parents. Without them, it would not be sustainable.
A sense of purpose & a passion have filled these children as their voice is being heard by their communities; as they start their own kitchen & herb gardens at home & go on to become Organic Ambassadors in the upper school with holiday activities.
We involve elders in storytelling which has been lost & research projects to measure local chemical inputs or for restoring the local ecosystem. The children are documenting & growing their traditional herbs in the school gardens.
We are also engaging them in protecting the local springs which are drying up in many areas, creating rituals for celebration & planting trees around them.
If you are interested in being part of this initiative, helping to support the work we are doing, sharing the turning of things, we are registered with FCRA (No.075901221) in India to receive funds from overseas - or if you are in UK, you can contact our funding organisation :
www.friendsofhope.org.uk